9-1-2016

Good Morning All!! 

       Luke 9:62; “Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

     I remember as a kid watching a cartoon called “Mr. Peabody and Sherman.”  Mr. Peabody was a beagle that was the smartest creature in the world.  After making a fortune as a business tycoon, he became a successful scientist.  He invented the “WABAC” machine and used to take his adopted human son Sherman on trips into the past.  It was an attempt to teach some history at a very young age.  During the course of the show, Sherman and Mr. Peabody realized that they could not interact with historical figures as it would change history, a nod to Ray Bradbury and “A Sound of Thunder”.

    You can’t go back.  You can’t go back and change the past.  The mean thing I did to that little boy in the third grade cannot be undone.  That mean thing I said to the young lady in the eighth grade cannot be undone; even the harsh word I had with my wife this morning cannot be undone.  Once an event occurs; it cannot be undone.  Things done or said to me; things said or done by me cannot be undone.  We cannot dwell on what someone said or did to hurt us.  We cannot keep looking to the past because this is where the devil leads us to see our failures, the failures of our family and the failures of those around us.  By focusing on the past, we focus on the pain of our sin.  This is why we are told to focus on Jesus; to focus our sight forward on the glory of Jesus.  We are to look forward to what is coming, to what will be ours and that is our eternal life with Jesus.

    Any farmer who has ever plowed knows that you have to look forward keeping your eye focused on your target or you will go crooked and then not completely plow the entire piece of land.  By looking back you take your eye off of the target.  By focusing on the past we take our eye off our target, Jesus.

    So what about the past?  Repent of the wrong you have committed and ask God to help you refrain from doing it again.  Forgive those who have hurt you even if they don’t ask.  Forgiveness lets you keep your eye on the target; holding onto the pain of the past is like looking back.  It causes us to miss out on all the joy that God has for us.  While looking back, we miss the joy of today and the glory of tomorrow.  While looking back, we see our pain of mistakes and poor choices.  By looking ahead, we can focus on the wondrous love of God, manifested in our lives through the hope of salvation. 

Gracious Father, keep our eyes and lives focused on your great mercy.  Lead us to look to you for our hope.  Send your Spirit to heal the broken and the hurting.  Keep all those whom you love in your loving arms.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret